Items tagged with windows 10 mobile

Remember the Windows 10 Mobile operating system? Just a few years ago, Microsoft was billing it as a credible alternative to Android and iOS and delivered some relatively cool features like Live Tiles on the lock screen and its Continuum mode that allowed users to extend their smartphone to a desktop experience. However, Microsoft has for the most part abandoned new feature update to Windows 10 Mobile and long shuttered production of its Lumia line of smartphones. So, it should come as no surprise that Microsoft has announced a final end date support: December 10th, 2019. The last major release...Read more...

Not everyone wants or needs to upgrade to a new smartphone every year (or even every two years). In fact, some people are quite content with their four- or five-year old devices and continue to use them to this day. However, for users of smartphones running legacy Windows Phone operating systems, Microsoft is making it harder to remain stuck in the past. Microsoft announced that starting tomorrow, February 20th, smartphone users running Windows Phone 7.5 or Windows Phone 8.0 will no longer have access to push notifications. According to the company, the following features will no longer function:...Read more...

We got a preview of Satya Nadella's thoughts on the mobile industry when his book landed late last month, and now the Microsoft CEO is giving a bit more insight into why the company's mobile aspirations have fizzled. According to Nadella, Apple and [especially] Google have so far cornered the market when it comes to smartphone operating systems. To put it bluntly, consumers have spoken, and they aren't enamored with what Microsoft has offered in this space on either the software front or the hardware front. "We absolutely do not have the share to have our smartphone hardware, that’s a real consumer...Read more...

We've known for quite some time that Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile is near death. The operating system has been treading water with less than one percent of the global smartphone market for quite some time, CEO Satya Nadella killed the company's smartphone hardware division, and we recently heard commentary from Hewlett-Packard about Microsoft’s non-committal attitude towards Windows 10 Mobile. "Microsoft, as all companies do, decided on a change in strategy and so they are less focused on what they thought they would be focused on today," said HP EMEA boss Nick Lazaridis last week. "Given that,...Read more...

It appears that Hewlett-Packard has a bone to pick with Microsoft, and it's in regards to the latter's failed execution in the smartphone operating system space. While Microsoft had been the primary manufacturer of Windows 10 Mobile devices with its Lumia line, it had also recruited big name OEMs like HP to bring their own unique designs to the table. HP answered with the Elite X3 (read our full review here), which banked heavily on the Windows 10 Mobile Continuum experience. Featuring a 6-inch display, Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage (with microSD expansion),...Read more...

If you are still rocking a Windows Phone 8.1 device (or older), the end of line is today for end-user support. Microsoft’s support website deems today — July 11th — as the finally day for supporting Windows Phone 8.1. So, what does this mean for those that are still clinging to Windows Phone 8.1-based smartphones? Well, you will no longer receive product updates or the latest security patches for the mobile operating system. This comes just over three years after Windows Phone 8.1 was released to the public as a heavily-updated version of Windows Phone 8. According to June analysis by AdDuplex,...Read more...

Let’s face it, Microsoft’s decision to purchase Nokia’s Devices and Services division was an epic fail. The acquisition resulted in billions of losses, plummeting market share for Microsoft’s smartphone operating system, and the laying off of thousands of employees. It’s quite amazing how far Microsoft has fallen when it comes to smartphones. In its most recent quarter (fiscal Q3 2017), it booked just $5 million in revenue from phone hardware. That is a big drop from fiscal Q3 2015, when Microsoft reported $1.4 billion in revenue on phone hardware. Looking at its performance in the smartphone arena,...Read more...

There seems to be a new bug making the rounds for people that are running Windows 10 Mobile on their Lumia smartphones. It has been reported that a lock screen exploit can give anyone with physical access to your smartphone the ability to snoop on just about any picture that is stored on your device. A member of the Windows Insider Brazil community is credited with discovering the exploit, which can bypass the PIN-based security on your smartphone. The first step is to open the camera app on a locked device (this functionality must have already been enabled in Settings). Once you snap...Read more...

Microsoft is preparing to blast off to Andromeda. No, we’re not talking about Mass Effect: Andromeda, but the company’s efforts to overhaul the Windows 10 UI. Microsoft’s version of Andromeda (not to be confused with Google Andromeda) beefs up the desktop experience for OneCore (Windows 10) platforms such as Windows 10 Mobile and HoloLens. There are a several parts that make up Andromeda, but as MSPowerUser describes, Windows 10 Mobile users stand to gain the most from the initiative. For example, the current Continuum desktop experience with Windows 10 Mobile represents a reasonable facsimile...Read more...

It looks as though we’ve come to the end of the road for Microsoft’s Lumia smartphone family. Microsoft has stopped selling the Windows 10 Mobile smartphones via the Microsoft Store, and there’s little chance that they will be restocked. Earlier this year, during the launch of the Lumia 650, Microsoft made it clear that it would be the last Lumia device introduced. And over the course the past few months, we’ve see reports that Lumia production was in fact winding down. According to a new report, the following Windows 10 Mobile devices are now out of stock from the Microsoft Store: Acer Liquid...Read more...

Earlier this month, T-Mobile jumped the gun with a product listing for the new Alcatel Idol 4S Windows 10 Mobile smartphone. Today, however, T-Mobile and Microsoft officially announced the flagship device, which launched earlier this year with Android 6.0 Marshmallow preinstalled. As we reported previously, the Alcatel Idol 4S is no slouch in the specs department, bringing with it a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, microSD slot with support for up to 128GB, 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, 20MP primary camera with Sony IMX230 sensor, 8MP selfie camera with a wide-angle...Read more...

Microsoft may seemingly be winding down its commitment to Windows 10 Mobile-based hardware, but its partners definitely haven’t given up. Earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard debuted the Elite X3 for $799 (Microsoft even used the smartphone in demo on stage during its Windows 10 Creators Edition keynote instead of its own Lumia 950 XL), and now we’ve learned that T-Mobile is stepping into the fray. T-Mobile will soon begin selling the Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows 10 Mobile preinstalled. The Idol 4S was previously only available from T-Mobile running Google’s Android operating system. In case you...Read more...

Windows 10 is an ever-evolving operating system and Microsoft has steadily rolled out updates to keep it fresh as the months progress. The Anniversary Update, which launched shortly after Windows 10’s first birthday, was the second major update for the operating system, and now we have Redstone 2 to look forward to as the next big update. Today, Microsoft released Windows 10 ‘Redstone 2’ Build 14946 to Windows Insiders on the Fast ring. Build 14946 is available to both PC users and those that using Windows 10 Mobile smartphones. Microsoft has made a number of improvements, the first of which will...Read more...

After a few delays that put the flagship Windows 10 Mobile flagship behind schedule, the Hewlett-Packard Elite x3 is finally available for customers to purchase. Starting this week, Microsoft opened up sales for the powerful smartphone via the Microsoft Store. Given the laundry list of features that are included with the Elite x3, this is by far the most powerful and versatile Windows 10 Mobile device released to date. Just look at its feature set, which wouldn’t be out of place on a flagship Android device: 5.96-inch WQHD AMOLED display Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor 4GB RAM 64GB internal storage...Read more...